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12/04/2018

The one banking bill Congress might actually pass next term

American Banker

Conventional wisdom says that it’s going to be a tall order to pass banking legislation next term, but there just might be a key exception.

One measure to watch will be a legislative fix for banks with customers in the legal marijuana business. While success is certainly not guaranteed, a narrow safe harbor for financial institutions in states where cannabis is now permitted is beginning to draw wide support from industry officials as well as from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. As chatter picks up, such a provision could find its way to passage in what may be an otherwise deadlocked term.

“As long as this issue is framed as a targeted and technical fix intended to clarify states’ rights, I think it has a path to passage in the next Congress,” said Isaac Boltansky, a policy analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading, who puts the odds of seeing a targeted safe harbor approved at around 75%.